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“There’s an assumption of durability for architecture. Interior design is more temporal, focusing on subliminal cues in the built environment. It’s not about following a formula. Rigor isn’t clear unless it’s opposing chaos. Anything can be beautiful – in the right hands.”

“It’s legendary within urban planning and architecture as a utopian idea… and yet it seemed sad. A failed experiment. It’s romantically inspired, but It’s not an appropriate response to the climate. Unlike the original Pueblo settlements, it’s not self-sufficient.” (Images: Mark English)

“Start by educating yourself. Art should make you think, shake you up, see the world differently. Building the next great widget is a laudable task… But art speaks to the soul rather than the pocketbook.”

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Short Takes

Ollantaytambo is a town and an Inca archaeological site in southern Peru some 60 kilometers northwest of the city of Cusco. It is located at an altitude of 2,792 meters (9,160 feet) above sea level in the district of Ollantaytambo, province of Urubamba, Cusco region. During the Inca Empire, Ollantaytambo was the royal estate of Emperor Pachacuti who conquered the region, built the town and a ceremonial center. […]

Emperor Pachacuti erected a number of royal estates to memorialize victories over other ethnic groups. Among these royal estates are Písac (victory over the Cuyos), Ollantaytambo (victory over the Tambos), and Machu Picchu (conquest of the Vilcabamba Valley).

The Monastery of Saint Catherine is a monastery of nuns of the Dominican Second Order, located in Arequipa, Peru. It was built in 1579 and was enlarged in the 17th century. The over 20,000-square-meter monastery was built predominantly in the Mudéjar style, and is characterized by its vividly painted walls. There are approximately 20 nuns currently living in the northern corner of the complex; the rest of the monastery […]